1. Area of the Art
The present invention relates to word games and in particular to an improved word building game featuring lively interactions between players.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various word games have long enjoyed considerable popularity. Anagrams and various forms of coded or hidden words are fascinating to many people. Even today when many decry the overall quality of general education and the failure of the population to read, crossword puzzles and similar word puzzles continue to enjoy great popularity. However, for the younger person faced with a blizzard of video games, handheld electronic game playing devices and even games on cell phone and personal digital assistants, the typical word game may appear fairly sedate.
The archetypal modern word game is probably Scrabble® where the players randomly draw letters and attempt to add them to a growing crossword structure. This game combines word building skills with a bit of a crossword structure. The players gain points by making words out of the letters they have drawn and appending the new word to the growing crossword. They can also gain points by modifying existing words in the structure. The score is based on the number and type of letter used with certain letters being worth more than others. The value of the letter is related to the difficulty in using the particular letter to form a word. Word Yahtzee is a word game where the letters are chosen by rolling dice which have letters on their faces. After a roll the player has a set amount of time to make words out of the letters rolled. The scoring is somewhat complex being based on as per letter value (as in Scrabble) with a number of other special situations (e.g., all vowels). The time limit per turn adds suspense and shows off the player's skill but there is somewhat a dearth of player interaction.
The general characteristics of word forming games include a means to randomly provide letters for the players to use; a means for displaying the provided letters to form words and a method for assigning scores based on the formed words—the score often being related to the difficulty of the letter. There are a large number of United States Patents for word forming games. Some games such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,473 to Dubren et al. which discloses a somewhat complex structure for forming words from letters printed on small disks. The excitement of the game is enhanced by allowing one player to capture words already formed by another player. U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,410 to Berton discloses a word game played with optionally interlocking tiles. The tiles are partitioned among the players who then take turns revealing tiles and forming words. Again, the level of interaction in the game is enhanced by allowing the players to capture words from other players.